Well, we've been following the "Drone" revolution for a while now. There are no doubt hundreds of uses for drones both fixed wing and multi-rotor. Several months ago we were discussing around the office here that we can all see a time when Drones might deliver pizza, store goods, and even auto parts direct to your front door. Perhaps they will be used in the medical field to deliver life saving supplies quickly, or even a first responder kit to patients.
Imagine if you could order a product online, and have it delivered the same day to your front yard via drone! Amazon.com and a few other large companies have been testing same day deliveries with trucks in major cities for some time now. A drone could bring your package quickly and directly to your location....
However, currently the FAA says no to the commercial use of drones at all (you can fly for hobby, testing and development and non commerce purposes though). I spoke to the FAA about this a few months back and they say they are adopting new rules regarding the use of drones, but right now it's on the drawing board.
The use of "Drones" brings up a few questions in my mind. Even though I fully support the use of them for commercial purposes, I don't think I would want cargo flights buzzing over my house, pets, children, and vehicles would you? If there were any malfunction it could damage your property or even worse someone could get hurt. I think the use of fail safes and redundant systems and safe flight routes that avoid people and property will be required.
There is also the possibility of theft. Drones could easily become a target for someone wanting to steal the cargo they are carrying (or the drone itself). These are all things that will have to be figured out before we see them delivering goods on a regular basis.
The Domino's Pizza Domicopter demonstration shows us that the technology is already here to deliver pizza and other goods right to your front door. Using a modified Steadidrone Eight Octocopter the test crew was able to successfully deliver a pizza to a waiting "test customer" recently.
For me personally, I'm excited to see what the future of drones will bring to us.
If you would like to watch the entire video of the test click here for the Domino's Pizza DomiCopter Pizza Drone.
Posted by Matt 6-6-13
Never thought I would enjoy working for Domino's...but if they let me fly, ...I may apply!
ReplyDeleteBut you're quite correct - this emerging technology has some legal hurdles before it becomes mainstream.